My last letter to Grandpa: The eulogy

Here is the eulogy I wrote (with input and passages from my sister and aunt) and delivered at Grandpa's funeral:

My grandfather was a wonderful man who served in many great roles in his life.  He was a husband, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, farmer, soldier, and just an overall honorable citizen and down-to-earth good person.   He was a man who could make anyone laugh and always had stories to tell.  He was a hard worker and an excellent father.  Together with his wife, Susie, they raised 3 wonderful children who are a reflection of his warm and giving heart.  And he was always so proud of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren—each and every one of whom are here today to share in his wonderful memory. 

Grandpa grew up during the Dirty 30’s where he recalled enduring several droughts and even a tornado, and that everyone was poor with very little money.  Yet as a kid he always said he still had his fun and didn’t let it bother him.  Nonetheless, it made a lasting impression on him, as he followed the “if you don’t have the cash, you don’t buy it” philosophy.  And from when his children were young, they remember him stating every spring, “if we can’t eat it, we won’t plant it”.  He also remembered having a garden as a child, which he had to help take care of.  One such chore included picking strawberries from their strawberry patch.  His mother didn’t think his strawberry picking was very helpful, however, given that for every one that went into the pan, she figured at least two went into his mouth.  As he put it, “I sure loooved those strawberries.” 

Grandpa’s role as a soldier began just after he had begun college at Kansas State University.  Once he turned 18 he went to register for the draft, but the draft board said he was needed on the farm instead.  Either way, Grandpa was going to have to quit college, and he decided he’d rather just volunteer for the draft than be considered a draft dodger using the farming exemption, but the board said the only way they’d let him volunteer was if he found someone to work on the farm in his place.  So the honorable and caring man that Grandpa was found a young man who was married, expecting a child any day, working on the railroad, and about to get drafted, to be the hired man on the farm so Grandpa could volunteer in his place.  Grandpa had many great and unique stories about his time in the Army and during World War II.  From his fellow soldier who had such big feet he needed special-order-boots, to his time in France where he almost met General Eisenhower. 

Grandpa met and began dating Susie, my grandmother, while he was still in high school, and proposed to her before heading off to the war.  He wrote letters back and forth with Grandma during the war, and then when the train carrying Grandpa and his fellow soldiers arrived at Leavenworth, Kansas on April 24^th, 1946, Grandma was right there waiting for him along with his parents, Mitchell and Opal.   Within a week and a half, he married Grandma on May 5^th, 1946.  He was a devoted husband to my Grandma during their nearly 62 years of marriage.  This was especially evident to me as she began to battle Alzheimer’s disease.  I recall one holiday when we brought Grandma home from nursing care for the holiday meal.  While she struggled to remember our names and faces, she clearly recognized Grandpa.  She walked over to him and said “well, I remember you!” and then sat by his side.

As a farmer, Grandpa could fix and repair almost everything.  He could also build.  He built many items for Linda to use in her classroom because he said he could make it much cheaper than what you would have to pay for it.  Grandpa passed these skills for building and repairing on to his son and my father, Tom, who has also passed this on to my brother, Mitchell.  However, being a farmer in Kansas had its challenges too.  For Grandpa, one such challenge was encountering snakes in the summer time.   In the spring when he’d be out walking the fence line, Linda can remember trailing behind him when suddenly he’d be 6 feet away from the fence, and she’d have to ask “Okay Dad, where’s the snake?” 

Grandpa really enjoyed kidding and bantering with people.  And he especially liked it when others kidded him in return, saying he was giving them a hard time.  He enjoyed visiting with folks over coffee at the local Café, the senior center, and just around and about town.  He was also the kind of man who never met a stranger.   He could sit on a bench in any store or mall and start a conversation with anyone, visiting just like two old friends.  When we’d ask him later who he was talking to, his answer was always “I have no idea!”

Some special memories of my grandfather, shared with me from his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are: angel food cake on birthdays, delicious cherry cobblers that he’d make himself, him sneaking a sweet treat whenever he could (even though he was diabetic), his “monster-like” snoring that scared Elly during an overnight stay in the camper, teaching Mary and Linda a memorable lesson about smoking, helping Tyrah with her clock puzzle, his moustache that we said tickled when he gave us kisses, afternoon naps in his recliner chair, looking through his coin collection, his big magnifying glass to help him read the paper or look at his coins, and him not liking to travel far from home—for he said he had traveled far enough during the war.

Grandpa was a self-proclaimed stubborn man up to his last breath... An extremely wise and strong man who made it through war, survived battling diabetes, heart surgeries, infections along with Parkinson's disease, and still he managed to kid and give his nurses a hard time and put a smile on everyone’s face.  Grandpa, we love you and miss you!  We thank you for all of the laughs and great stories.  And most of all, we are forever grateful that you have been such an important person and honorable role model in all of our lives!